COLD WEATHER SURVIVAL - Equipped

1 cold WEATHERSURVIVALOne of the most difficult SURVIVAL situations is a coldweather scenario. Remember, cold WEATHER is an adversarythat can be as dangerous as an enemy soldier. Every timeyou venture into the cold , you are pitting yourself againstthe elements. With a little knowledge of the environment,proper plans, and appropriate equipment, you can over-come the elements. As you remove one or more of thesefactors, SURVIVAL becomes increasingly difficult. Remember,winter WEATHER is highly variable. Prepare yourself to adaptto blizzard conditions even during sunny and clear is a far greater threat to SURVIVAL than it appears.

2 Itdecreases your ability to think and weakens your will to doanything except to get warm. cold is an insidious enemy; asit numbs the mind and body, it subdues the will to makes it very easy to forget your ultimate goal REGIONS AND LOCATIONSCold regions include arctic and subarctic areas and areas immediatelyadjoining them. You can classify about 48 percent of the northern hemi-sphere s total landmass as a cold region due to the influence and extentof air temperatures. Ocean currents affect cold WEATHER and cause largeareas normally included in the temperate zone to fall within the coldregions during winter periods.

3 Elevation also has a marked effect ondefining cold the cold WEATHER regions, you may face two types of cold weatherenvironments wet or dry. Knowing in which environment your areaof operations falls will affect planning and execution of a cold cold WEATHER EnvironmentsWet cold WEATHER conditions exist when the average temperature in a24-hour period is -10 degrees C or above. Characteristics of this condi-tion are freezing during the colder night hours and thawing during theday. Even though the temperatures are warmer during this condition,the terrain is usually very sloppy due to slush and mud.

4 You must con-centrate on protecting yourself from the wet ground and from freezingrain or wet cold WEATHER EnvironmentsDry cold WEATHER conditions exist when the average temperature ina 24-hour period remains below -10 degrees C. Even though the tem-peratures in this condition are much lower than normal, you do nothave to contend with the freezing and thawing. In these conditions, youneed more layers of inner clothing to protect you from temperaturesas low as 60 degrees C. Extremely hazardous conditions exist whenwind and low temperature increases the hazards in cold regions.

5 Windchill is theeffect of moving air on exposed flesh. For instance, with a (15-knot) wind and a temperature of -10 degrees C, the equivalentwindchill temperature is -23 degrees C. Figure 15-1 gives the windchillfactors for various temperatures and wind , even when there is no wind, you will create the equivalentwind by skiing, running, being towed on skis behind a vehicle, workingaround aircraft that produce wind PRINCIPLESOF cold WEATHERSURVIVALIt is more difficult for you to satisfy your basic water, food, and shelterneeds in a cold environment than in a warm environment.

6 Even if youhave the basic requirements, you must also have adequate protectiveclothing and the will to survive. The will to survive is as important as thebasic needs. There have been incidents when trained and well-equippedindividuals have not survived cold WEATHER situations because they lackedthe will to live. Conversely, this will has sustained individuals lesswell-trained and are many different items of cold WEATHER equipment and clothingissued by the Army today. Specialized units may have access tonewer, lightweight gear such as polypropylene underwear, GORE-TEXouterwear and boots, and other special equipment.

7 Remember, however,the older gear will keep you warm as long as you apply a few coldweather principles. If the newer types of clothing are available, usethem. If not, then your clothing should be entirely wool, with the possi-ble exception of a must not only have enough clothing to protect you from the cold ,you must also know how to maximize the warmth you get from example, always keep your head covered. You can lose 40 to 45percent of body heat from an unprotected head and even more fromthe unprotected neck, wrist, and ankles. These areas of the body aregood radiators of heat and have very little insulating fat.

8 The brainis very susceptible to cold and can stand the least amount of there is much blood circulation in the head, most of whichis on the surface, you can lose heat quickly if you do not coveryour are four basic principles to follow to keep warm. An easy way toremember these basic principles is to use the word cold COLDCOLDKeep clothing clothes loose and in clothing clothing clean. This principle is always important for sanita-tion and comfort. In winter, it is also important from the stand-point of warmth. Clothes matted with dirt and grease lose muchof their insulation value.

9 Heat can escape more easily from thebody through the clothing s crushed or filled up air overheating. When you get too hot, you sweat and yourclothing absorbs the moisture. This affects your warmth in twoways: dampness decreases the insulation quality of clothing, andas sweat evaporates, your body cools. Adjust your clothing so thatyou do not sweat. Do this by partially opening your parka orjacket, by removing an inner layer of clothing, by removing heavyouter mittens, or by throwing back your parka hood or changingto lighter headgear. The head and hands act as efficient heatdissipaters when your clothing loose and in layers.

10 Wearing tight clothing andfootgear restricts blood circulation and invites cold injury. It alsodecreases the volume of air trapped between the layers, reducingits insulating value. Several layers of lightweight clothing arebetter than one equally thick layer of clothing, because the layershave dead-air space between them. The dead-air space providesextra insulation. Also, layers of clothing allow you to take off oradd clothing layers to prevent excessive sweating or to clothing dry. In cold temperatures, your inner layers of cloth-ing can become wet from sweat and your outer layer, if not waterrepellent, can become wet from snow and frost melted by bodyheat.